Rituximab, a monoclonal B-cell cytolytic antibody, has beneficial effects in patients with inflammatory demyelinating diseases. So far, little data exists on B-cell subset recovery after rituximab treatment in inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). To elucidate whether rituximab promotes qualitative changes in the IgG memory B-cell repertoire we performed a single cell analysis in three patients with CNS demyelination. We did not observe any qualitative changes but detected an increased clonal expansion in the IgG memory B-cell compartment after treatment, indicating that a single course of rituximab does not eliminate specific IgG memory B-cells.
Keywords: B-cells; Clonal expansion; Multiple sclerosis; Neuromyelitis optica; Rituximab.
Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.